Scythian Gold Mount

£ 1,350.00

A Scythian mount made from sheet gold depicting two opposing faces with their hair tied back and decorated with a herringbone pattern. Underneath both faces sits a roundel with two bird heads on each side, their beaks elaborately crafted into scroll patterns.

This piece comes with a display frame and the measurements indicated include the stand. The piece itself measures 2.7cm in length, 2.4cm in width and weighs 0.95g.

Date: Circa first Millennium BC
Provenance: Ex Mayfair gallery collection, pre 1999.
Condition: Very fine condition. Break in the gold at the bottom of the piece.

In stock

Scythia was an area in central Eurasia, bordering the Black Sea and consisting largely of nomadic tribes. Scythian art was primarily decorative in its nature, and the Scythians were famed for their jewellery, which was highly ornate and carefully crafted.

This gold zoomorphic mount would have been affixed to garments of clothing as decoration. Such items normally would have been affixed in patterns, with multiple gold mounts on a single item of clothing. Gold was so integral to Scythian fashions that even their horses were richly decorated in gold ornamentation. The reverse of this piece clearly shows the three suspension holes by which it would have been attached to a garment.

To discover more about Scythian culture, please visit our relevant blog post: Scythian Gold.

Weight 28.5 g
Dimensions L 9.5 x W 5.5 x H 10 cm
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